The popular business and finance Web site polled its readers (a group Business Insider touts as "real professionals in variety of industries--most of whom have hiring experience") to rank top schools based on "one thing that matters: how much a college will help you have a successful career." Nearly 1,500 responded, forming the basis for the rankings of 50 top colleges nationwide.

Brown, in fact, was the lowest-ranked of the Ivy League schools in the new ranking, and the only school in that prestigious group to drop in its rankings. Columbia University maintained its #7 ranking, Dartmouth held onto the #8 spot for another year, the University of Pennsylvania held onto its #9 spot, as did Cornell, at #10.

Business Insider's survey

Of the respondents to this year's survey, 90.7 percent had bachelor's degrees and 64.8 percent had hiring experience. Almost 30 percent of the respondents work in finance, 22 percent work in technology, 9.9 percent work in education, 9.9 are current students, 9.2 percent work in media and marketing, and 8 percent work in law.

Despite the high cost of tuition and large amounts of student debt, 52.2 percent of respondents said that college is still worth it. However, other people said that the value of college depends on factors such as the caliber of the school, major and coursework, the quality of the education, the cost of tuition and financial aid packages, potential return on investment, and social opportunities.

"Certain majors are worth it - finance, engineering, comp sci. Other majors are not worth paying 40k a year in order to still earn only 30k after graduation," one respondent wrote.

Other respondents stressed the quality of the education and the opportunities to learn as the most important part of a college education. One respondent wrote that "There's a huge intellectual growth you experience in college."